The jungle feeling is enhanced with a number of Agouti roaming around the grounds.

The location, the hotel grounds were absolutely beautiful.

The grounds are pretty stunning and it's very tranquil.

We even got to watch a paca on the grounds a few times, which we totally enjoyed.

The hotel grounds are nicely kept with lots of plants & flowers.

We drove from Antigua midweek and were so surprised and happy that the hotel and grounds were so pretty.

The grounds at the BP's are spectacular, having its own birding show from your front deck.

Major improvement area is the swimming pool area, not suitable for the night since there are no lights, also the floor around the pool needs some repair.

There were no light fixtures on the lights.

I reached over and turned on the bedside light, to find a roach, just sitting there.

Hardly anyone was ever in the large adult pool, so we took full advantage of that.

I did not use the pools since it was raining,

Kids like the water streaming over the pools.

The hotel is lake front and from the pool you have some amazing views.

Food was always delicious, the pool was clean and the water temperature was perfect.

The hotel has two large pools, decks into Rio Dulce, kayaks, canoes, jet skis for rent.

Let's say the hotel is beautiful and had a relaxing swimming pool and view on the lake.

Lovely clean pools, our lake view  suite was clean and quiet.

The area itself is a gated resort, with a restuarant, pool and suprisingly a helipad.

The pools were clean and fun to relax and listen to music.

The view of the lake, the pools, the food in the restaurant, and rooms (with ac) were awesome.

Plus two nice and clean pools if you dont like to swim in the lake.

What an fantastic place to relax,sit around the pools.

There are two pools and water activities available (you get a complimentary hour on kayak for every day of your stay!).

Room was clean, lots of storage, small table and chair to sit on just outside lockable sliding door.

The rooms are clean, roomy and the place is well maintained, i took a boat from the Hotel to Livingston-the guy that took us is a well known recommend person by the Hotel.

The room while clean had a fair few issues.

The staff is very friendly and our room was clean and had all the necessities I including air conditioning which you really need as its hot hot and humid there.

The rooms were very clean, sheets, towels new.

The rooms are clean, the staff friendly and helpful, and the food superb.

Rooms are clean and everybody was very helpful.

The rooms were incredibly roomy and we loved hanging out at the hammock on the balcony.

We stayed in a very spacious room with a king bed in one room with tv, AC, and a seating are and another room with two queen beds, tv and AC with a shared bathroom.

The rooms are spacious with comfortable beds and AC and so are the bathrooms.

The restaurant is great and the condos are spacious.

Banana Palms Hotel Resort & Marina

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they charged us 400Q when we arrived at Livingston we realised we had been whipped off and had paid more than twice the price it should have been.

Furthermore, they charged for every little thing.

but I felt like he was just trying to sell me on his day tour (which he probably makes a decent commission on, since the costs add up to about 40Q but he charges 90Q).

I honestly didn't know it was possible for chicken to be that gristly, and to be charged that much was upsetting.

The hotel is based on the river and the hostel charges 20 Q per boar service (per person, one way) so you rather pay or have to eat there.

Food is overpriced, jacusi was cold and not working, they charge for any trips in town or for kayaking.

We were disappointed that the charged us 80 Q to pick us up at Brunos and return.

In my view the food was expensive and average, a small cup of unpleasant coffee costs Q10, all extras are charged for including water bottle refills.

At the end if you want to pay wit your credit card they charge you 8%, i just don't know why?

Paid for best room--a little cabin. Filthy!

Greg helped us figure out our own tour of a hot waterfall and canyon which was really fun and not that expensive.

Restaurant is a bit pricey, meals start around Q40/45, breakfast is around Q35.

However, when we paid our tab at the end of the trip, we realized we spent ways more money than we had expected.

The Mexican food they offer is delicious - a bit pricey though.

Even eating outside, in the city, doesn't worth is cause you will have to pay for the boat.

The staff were unhelpful, you have to get there by water taxi and every time you want to leave to get to Rio Dulce town, you have to pay 20Q.

but the boat into town costs 20Q so there are literally no other options for food here.

3) When we asked Gary to drop us somewhere that actually had nice food for dinner (the only way to get around is by boat), he went missing after trying his utmost to deter us, despite us being willing to pay his extortionate fare for the boat ride just to escape for a few hours.

you have to take a taxi or the owner,s boat, both at a fee.

The only complaint I have is that the food is too expensive and you feel a bit taken advantage of considering the location.

The journey the next day was much of a muchness (we did, in fact, join up with some other Kangaroo residents on our shuttle journey in the morning, and I think they left slightly earlier and paid slightly more).

We had dinner the first night; it was mediocre and pricey.

Accommodation
The rooms themselves are really clean in spacious (both the private rooms and the dorm).

The water is hot, the rooms are clean and the beds comfortable.

Rooms were clean, spacious, and well priced,

The rooms are clean, the staff is more than nice, the mood is calm and sooo peacefull.

The WiFi worked only in the main building,

but this is not the part of the world to be looking for dependable internet service.

5) The wi-fi is terrible, they might as well not have any.

The wifi is very limited so do your important stuff before you go.

The dogs are a joy :) The wifi was pretty poor and often didn't work at all, so get any important communication done before you get set up there.

Adding: WIFI was very poor and they don't allow to Skype conversations.

Wi-fi was dicey--it's satellite internet so apparently not reliable.

The internet wasn't working most of the time, I finally figured out that Gary doesn't want his wi-fi bill to be high so he simply cuts off the internet and pretend he doesn't know why it's not working.

They've got satellite internet so no skype or videos here -

Hotel Kangaroo

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Be aware that there's not an overabundance of things "to do" at the site. One can go off-site on boat trips -- we took the collectivo to Livingston and enjoyed that day a lot -- and take out kayaks, and jump off the floating platform for a quick swim,

Leo and Rudy introduced us to amazing people who assisted us in boat repairs and possible boats available for purchase.

Just a 5 min boat trip you will reach this beautiful place in the middle of nature.

They are super quick with pick up when you arrive if you don't have a boat (once I got picked up from the available parking across the river and once from the public dock) and the buildings are lovely with a great view.

but loads of fun, starting with the boat ride across the river from the secure parking lot.

Lovely spot just a few minutes by boat from the centre of Rio Dulce.

They also offer a shuttle boat to Livingston, a nearby town that’s worth a look.

It is an easy boat ride from a fantastic national park/reserve area.

so I count myself lucky to have spent two days here.. relaxing, reading, swimming and generally just lazing around,  watching the yachts come and go.. there were quite a few moored up whilst I was there..restaurant overlooks the river and there is a complementary boat to ferry you back and forth to the main town..if you ever feel like venturing further.

Boat ride along the river to the open sea and livingstone is a must.

Took a boat to get to it, which is so cool.

You needed to get a quick boat ride from town to the hotel which is on the edge of the river.

It was easy to get I to town via boat or by foot.

You can only get here by boat launch arranged by the hotel which helps to make you feel away from it all.

We left our boat at Tortugal in April 2016 until April 2017 to have some work done by Byron, the marina manager, and his crew.

We thank Byron the Dockmaster for introducing us to efficient service providers we needed for small boat repairs.

They came to get us at the bus stop and the boat ride was very short (5 minutes max)
The restaurant is very good

We took a short boat ride to the Tortugal River Lodge and the location by the water is just lovely.

People come here either to take a boat to Livingstone or to visit Quirigua Archeological Zone.

The bathroom itself has no door which is a concept we are not fond of, there are some things you dont want to share.

but no teaspoon to use it with, loud music coming from next door property).

The Tortugal Boutique River Lodge is near these landmarks: Grutas El Encanto, Zach Trips, Cueva Del Tigre, Rio Dulce, Playa Sand Bay, Seven Altars, Playa Blanca, Go With Gus Tours, Viajes y Transportes Nemo and Reggae on the River

The lodge is directly on the water with a small marina, a well appointed common area with bar and restaurant overlooking the river.

The Tortugal River Lodge has three parts;

a marina which is similar to all other marinas (give or take) in the area.

We were guests in their lodge as well as marina guests.

Sonya was a ray of sunshine and very helpful in our quest to experience Rio Dulce, Fronteres and helping us get to know the cruising community there.

Unfortunately, the payment of the bar and restaurant is not well coordinated and we had to pay for drinks we didn't order.

I complained to the waiter and he told me Sorry I can't help you this is what you ordered. Unacceptable.

Finally, they did make the pizza we’d asked for, an hour after we ordered.

It lasted until midnight - and absolutely ruined the quiet atmosphere -- and sleep and left us angry.

There are resident animals (dog, cats, ducks), and you can hear all the jungle animals at night.

You can hear all the animals at night and you know when a new day begins.

The only downside was that there is literally no soundproofing between the rooms so we were woken up at 4am on the last day to our room neighbours squealing about the fact they had a frog in their toilet!

On our second night, we lost power (this happens in Rio Dulce) and the hotel had generators online in minutes.

but cops the noise of the trucks going over the bridge using their air brakes.

The bungalows are adorable and you here all the jungle like noises to fall asleep to and wake up to.

Even as far away as the Castillo, the sound of the trucks was omnipresent.

The water in Izabal and Rio Dulce is the perfect temperature and so this makes it an absolute pleasure to spend time swimming and enjoying it!

Rio Dulce was a very pleasant surprise en route to Tikal.

a restaurant with a similar menu to the rest of Rio Dulce.

The hotel will pick you up and take you back to Rio Dulce for free.

The rooms are clean, the bed is comfy, the staff are extremely friendly and helpful.

The rooms were clean and comfortable with plenty of hot water and were nice and quiet.

The room was clean and comfortable with a queen bed, fan, desk and bamboo storage rack for bags, etc.

Tortugal Boutique River Lodge

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but no hairdryer in the rooms which is very very bad.

The showers either were cold or just stopped running.

but that high tech shower enclosure was slightly claustrophobic, even for me.

No one really spoke English so they did not understand the severity of the problem.the shower only dripped cold water and the soap was a dispenser often seen in a gas station or low end restaurant.

The air con leaked to form a pool on the floor and when we reported this it did not seem to come a surprise.

For the rates charged you expect a little more like paper in the bathroom or A/C may be even lights.

The only problem was that almost no one spoke English (especially at check-in/check-out) and the bungalow did not have a real shower, just some sort of high tech shower capsule that did not work very well.

3 were refurbished ones, 1 (Cabaña 3) was not, and had a hole in wall, broken ceramics in bathroom and humidity marks on ceiling.

The food is not cheap (for Latin America)

I paid for an “executive king room” that was supposed to be 625 square feet.

The restaurant is not very good and breakfast are not included in the price of the room.

even though you pay a hefty price for the room.

At checkout we learned that “the most expensive room in the hotel” goes for $236.00 per night.

Thank goodness our guide remained with us; it took over an hour to make the staff understand that the tiny, old, unrenovated room they tried to put us into was NOT the suite we had paid for.

We refused to stay in those rooms so we paid double the price or three times the price to be put in different rooms which we did in the end.

A very large room nearly empty of forniture and with a very noisy and insufficient air conditioner.

The only thing I didn't like is that the walls are very thin and everything in the room is made of wood or concrete, so it seems like you can hear a pin drop in your neighbors room.

Overall I would have rated higher except the mini bar that was not refilled before we arrived in the room they wanted to bill me for the missing items.

My only gripe (which is why i gave it 3 stars) is no WIFI in the rooms (which is shocking for a hotel of this grade).

On the way back to the room he let slip that “those rooms never have internet reception”.

Internet signal does not reach rooms at least the 2 I had experience with.

I books the most economical room and was given room no.

The tried to put us in rooms that they were going to tear down.

I was traveling in a group of 9 and we had 4 rooms.

Clean rooms, beautiful landscapes and Guatemala nature wherever you look.

Great location, clean rooms, hot water, good Wi-Fi, great food and bar right on the river!

The rooms were clean and quite adequate if you get a room anything above standard.

Just one negative comment : Wifi in the room was not always working perfectly (seemed a bit random), while working perfectly in the bar.

No internet in the room and the tv is just a decoration.

I had to go out to the lobby or the marina to reach the wifi signal.

Some problems with electricity and Wifi in the night.

And a very poor wifi signal on top of all.

Nanajuana Rio Dulce

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We used the kayaks and their recommendation for a boat for exploring the area.

Local restaurants can also be easily reached by boat.

One day we took a boat into town (5 minutes)

Make sure you take a boat to the town of Rio Dulce and take a look around, its a great place to visit.

Livingstone is interesting and there is opportunity to take a boat to Belize if you are interested.

We caught a small boat at the main jetty in town to reach this spot which is tucked away in among the mangroves and bush.

She told me the boat had forgotten to come and that I needed to jump in their private lancha so their boat guy could chase down the collectivo/lancha!

Access is either by boat across the lake or by land.

That's a feat- normally I feel like you get a little bit of alcohol with a lot of whatever else,

but we really felt that we were not the workers main focus. 7.

The ONLY reasons I did not give this place a 5 star rating are the slightly overpriced food and drink items, the need for improvement of housekeeping, and the presence of tarantulas and other dangerous animals in/around the rooms that could have been detected by the staff.

The hostel owners paid for my antibiotics

Food was mediocre (most plain grilled cheese I’ve ever seen) and overpriced.

That really turned us off: why not include this in the price?

but I asked to change my beds and nobody help me.

I asked where was the 2:30pm collectivo/lancha to Livingston.

though is that it took at least 40 minutes to get our food at every meal and only came after we asked for it. .

We had previously arranged a trip down the Rio Dulce to Livingstone outside of the trips the hotel offers.

These super cute bungalows are literally in the jungle in the middle of Rio Dulce.

Great spot in the jungle easy to get to from Rio dulce town(5 min)!

I’d advice travelers to stay in one of the cool (new) lodges we saw along the Rio Dulce, more towards Livingston.

We selected this location in Rio Dulce since we were only spending one day doing the river tour on the way to Livingston.

We had a couple more days to spend in Rio Dulce and moved over from a very comfortable place to Hacienda Tijax, just for some variety.

Hugo, our CEO from G-Adventures, introduced us to the experience of this quaint jungle lodge on Lake Izabal in Rio Dulce.

but it wasn't a short trip and we needed a couple days of vegging out) 

Clean rooms, warm water, easy to use shower.

The rooms are clean and tidy with air-conditioning, mosquito nets and a table and chair to use if need.

A/C in most of the hacienda's (check before booking), clean rooms, very exotic.

Tours on the Rio Dulce and to Livingston involve picking passengers up from the pier, which is only a few steps away, on a scenic foot bridge.

The Hacienda Tijax is near these landmarks: Grutas El Encanto, Zach Trips, Cueva Del Tigre, Rio Dulce, Playa Sand Bay, Seven Altars, Playa Blanca, Go With Gus Tours, Viajes y Transportes Nemo and Reggae on the River

The sunrise is something special that can be enjoyed from the lake, while having a lazy kayak tour.

We were here as part of a group tour, and we really enjoyed our stay.

We would highly recommend the sunrise kayak tour to see the howler monkeys which was a fantastic experience.

We did the horseback tour and it was cool and all buuuuuuut- I couldn't tell if the horses had proper footwear on for lack of a better term? Horseshoes?

There are more tours on offer such as kayaking through the mangroves and we   Also went to the nearby town Livingston for a pop in a look around.

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Feb, 16, 2016

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